Sofia Vergara will forever have a friend in Julie Bowen.
At the Step Up Inspiration Awards on Friday, Bowen, 53, shares that her Modern Family costar, 51, will “always” have her support amid her new phase in life following her split from Joe Manganiello.
“Her Instagram says it all,” Bowen says. “We have spoken, and she’s doing great. Sofia has always had such a wonderful family that surrounds her and wonderful friends.”
“She doesn’t need Taylor Swift to take her to a game. She’s good,” Bowen jokes. “But I’m super happy that all those other girls are going to games with T Swifty. I wish she had been around for me.”
Bowen and Vergara shared the screen for eleven years in the beloved ABC series Modern Family. Although the show ended its run in 2020 after 11 seasons, Bowen spoke highly of their friendship and said that Vergara is someone who she considers a “role model.”
“Sofía has always been my role model as far as embracing being a woman and womanly, and yet also being powerful and not… I always felt like you had to compromise one for the other,” she explains.
Bowen previously voiced her support for Vergara after her split from Manganiello, 46, in a carousel post on Instagram that included photos of Vergara in a blue and black leopard-print thong one-piece. While Vergara captioned the post, “Last days of vacay! Even when u r so hot I love u Ravello!!!😁😁,” Bowen left a comment that read, “This is what single and 🔥 looks like!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️.”
In an E! News interview in August, Bowen said everything Vergara does “ she does with grace.”
“And she rises above and she just goes forward. She’s warm and generous and giving to everybody around her,” Bowen continued. “I have no doubt that if she wishes to be in a relationship she will be, but she sure don’t need one.”
Sources confirmed that Vergara and Manganiello were going their separate ways after seven years of marriage shortly after Vergara was spotted celebrating her 51st birthday with friends in Italy. During the trip, Manganiello was not seen with Vergara, who was spotted without her wedding ring.
They announced their split in a statement to Page Six that read, “We have made the difficult decision to divorce. As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for respect for our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.”
Two days after the announcement, the alum officially filed for divorce from Vergara. He cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the couple’s split, according to divorce documents.
Shortly after the news broke, an insider shared that Vergara and Manganiello “ differ immensely in style and what they like to do, although during the marriage, each tried to put the other’s interests ahead of their own to make it work.”
“Their physical attraction to each other only carried their marriage that far,” they added. “On a day-to-day basis, there are so many other things that need to work. There were several things that didn’t work.”